Of Belles and Scallywags
by ShadowSong StarGlaive The Wolf
Summary: [50 sentences for livejournal] Scarlett is the red earth of Tara, flowing silks, flaring anger. Rhett is Charleston's waters, blockades, fashion. But together, they are a fiery storm, and there are almost no words to describe the relationship they have...


**Fandom: Gone with the Wind**  
**Pairing: Scarlett O'Hara/Rhett Butler **  
**Rating: PG-PG13**

A/N If you didn't know, there is a sequel written to Gone with the Wind called Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley, but most the people I've asked haven't read it, so I'm plucking plot ideas from various places in the book, skipping around, but nothing past the end of Gone with the Wind. There are spoilers for the book/movie, but chances are, if you're reading this, you've probably read/seen it.

I've reposted this to Livejournal, in case someone reads both and they're all "OMGOSH YOU STEALER!!!!!!!!!"

Disclaimer: If I had owned Gone with the Wind, Scarlett and Rhett wouldv'e gotten married before they met and had thirty awesome kids and owned Tara.

And Ashely would've died in a freak wagon accident _very_ early on.

#01 - Ring

Ellen had always mentioned to Scarlett how beautiful a gold-and-ruby ring would look upon her slim, alabaster fingers, but the belle of Georgia knew that Rhett would purchase emerald to match her eyes- he was just like that.

#02 - Hero

Ladies thought that a hero was brave, handsome, gallant, and a gentlemen, but for some reason Scarlett thought of blockading ships, being fashionable, and a wide bank account in her savior.

#03 - Memory

Every time she breathed in the deep scent of Tara, a flood of memories came into her mind- _Tarleton twins painting the new horse colt blue, and then them hiding in the cotton praying that Mister O'Hara was too drunk to find them- _but the lovely Georgian breeze danced them out of her thoughts just as easily.

#04 - Box

A box of Confederate bonds was her last hope during those desperate days at Tara, and that was when she knew not to put her trust in paper- just gold, and perhaps that strong man who always seemed to have plenty of it.

#05 - Run

She fought against Yankees in her dream, never fleeing like they assumed a genteelly raised Southern Lady would, and they feared the cold black glint in her eyes she did obviously not learn from her mother.

#06 - Hurricane

Aunt Pitty's twisted mouth, India's arrogant smile, and all of Southern Society's disdainful looks, and all Rhett thought was, _Scarett can take this hurricane better than anyone I know- the South got quite a challenge in breaking this lady. _

#07 - Wings

There was a statue of an angel at Careen's convent, but one of the wings had broken off and it was smeared with soot from the kitchens above it, and amongst all the beautiful sculptures around it, Scarlett connected with the sad seraph instantly.

#08 - Cold

Rhett had often told her stories about wild adventures on the high seas, and how the freezing water would scrub a man clean if he fell overboard, and Scarlett (being Scarlett) wondered out loud if the shipped clothes from Paris fell overboard, the dye wouldn't run because it was cold, right?

#09 - Red

People often said crimson, maroon, burgundy, ruby, whatever shade of red, went perfectly with Scarlett because it matched her skin tone, but Rhett knew that it was fire inside the woman that made everybody see her so perfectly.

#10 - Drink

_This is the last time,_ she thought, wrapping her shaking fingers around the brandy bottle, but in the back of her inebriated mind a ghost whispered, _That's what you said to me back in Atlanta, my pet…_

#11 - Midnight

In her sleepless nights at ruined Tara, the twelve strikes on the clock signified a new day was here, and oddly enough, that was her lullaby for a very long time.

#12 - Temptation

Rhett knew better than to approach a fuming tigress, but the lure of the green eyes and the ruby lips almost caused him to walk right into the tiger's cage.

#13 - View

The view of the Charleston Harbor never ceased to enthrall Rhett, despite all his years there, and when a startling woman stood at the end of a dock and laughed at the sky and the world, it became all the more amazing.

#14 - Music

Wedding tunes were too light and jovial for her, and she knew one day at her wedding there could be bold, defiant music, and that the man she would marry would be the same way.

#15 - Silk

Rhett informed her that in Paris, green was the _in_ color for the fabric, and the next day New Orleans saw a strong jade butterfly flitting amongst their ranks, and Rhett smiled to himself.

#16 - Cover

As Rhett held the umbrella up higher against the New Orleans rain, Scarlett wondered if the man's naturally hard aura didn't just shed the water off like an invisible shield, and little did she know Rhett was thinking the same about her.

#17 - Promise

Wade looked at Uncle Rhett and his mother outside the window and wondered why they kept talking to each other if they were always arguing- what kind of promise could keep people together like that?

#18 - Dream

Little did she know she screamed in her sleep, when Yankees invaded her Southern dreams, and little did she know that hundreds of miles away in New Orleans a certain scallywag could hear every moan and whimper.

#19 - Candle

Working late nights at Kennedy's Emporium led to many used-up piles of wax that used to be candles, but it was better than trying to fall asleep while a certain black-haired man paced her thoughts, prodding her awake with every smirk.

#20 - Talent

_The woman has talent,_ grudgingly admitted Rhett as Scarlett bargained with a seasoned banker on taking out a loan that he knew she would find a way to stretch to it's limits, and then he smiled to himself- _and by God, I'm the one that caught her. _

#21 - Silence

The worst thing in the world to Scarlett was deafening quiet- that was the noise she heard after Sherman burned and chopped his way through her countryside, that was the noise after Melly died, and the racket in her ears after Rhett disappeared out of sight for the last time.

#22 - Journey

Many women described childbirth and pregnancy as a long but rewarding journey, but it reminded Scarlett of pain, being uncomfortable, losing dignity and suffering- somewhat like talking to Rhett when he had the upper hand.

#23 - Fire

When the smoke rose up in curls around the plantation of Tara, Scarlett cried out, but was shaken awake by Bonnie, who asked her mother what was wrong- and when the frightened woman saw the masked concern in her husband's face, the fell back into sleep, leaving her child and lover confused.

#24 - Strength

_One more turnip, one more potato, one more…_ she wearily thought, dragging herself across the loving and hating red earth, thinking that with every plant she put in the ground, a little of her soul went with it, like seeing burned Atlanta or a harsh talk with Rhett.

#25 - Mask

Her lips curled up and her eyes sparkled, and Rhett wondered if, like her dresses, this was a face she pulled out for special occasions, or perhaps this masquerade was actually… _real? _

#26 - Ice

The little chips of green diamonds in her eyes made Rhett remark aloud, "My dear, for such a passionate woman, you are positively an ice queen," which led to her breaking her cold demeanor and laugh out loud (_darn him!)_

#27 - Fall

India watched with disdain as Scarlett and Rhett exchanged masked harsh words and flirting words outside, and she knew with every syllable that they were slowly slipping from society- but secretly, she knew too that they were too into each other to honestly care.

#28 - Forgotten

Looking at the Tarleton twin's graves, and remembering all the sweet words, the dimpled smiles, and offers to help her up on her horse, she turns away, gritting her teeth, thinking that some things, like the War, past loves, and bitter arguments are best forgotten.

#29 - Dance

It was silly to think that Mr. Butler would enjoy dancing- God's nightgown, he spent his time wheedling money out of people and running blockades!- but perhaps this little exercise taught her to expect the unexpected.

#30 - Body

Although she had scarred hands, worry lines, tanned skin, and an crack in her voice, Rhett was bonded, captivated by her, the flaws becoming the very things that made him want to hold her in the Yankee jail cell.

#31 - Sacred

Cleaning up at the broken Tara, Suellen came across Ellen's old rosary, and looked at Scarlett, knowing that she should probably give it to her elder sister, but then decided, with the way the woman had been acting with the Rhett man lately, she'd need a lot more than a single rosary.

#32 - Farewells

Will didn't quite know what to say as Wade and Ella asked him what their mother had meant when she had fiercely muttered under her breath to the mirror after returning from Atlanta, "And this is goodbye- I'll never need you again, you scallywag!"

#33 - World

As Melly taught Beau where to find Georgia on the tiny marble globe that Rhett had bought her from Paris, Scarlett wondered just how big the world is- and how she managed to find Rhett amongst all the other people out there.

#34 - Formal

The first time they had met, Rhett had been in his finest, and Scarlett had been at the peak of her beauty, but their initial actions and words had been anything but formal, unless eavesdropping and throwing china was secretly a common activity among the polished Southerners of Georgia society.

#35 - Fever

Deliriously in a fever at the age of fifteen, Rhett had once murmured, "I'll never be this weak again," and then there he was, begging to the stormy Charleston harbor waters (the thing he knew best) to tell him what he had done wrong, and how to fix this awful scar between him and _her._

#36 - Laugh

Melly had a quiet, mousy laugh, Wade had this boyish chuckle, Ella with her high-pitched giggle, but all of them faded when Scarlett barked out in rather unladylike snorts when Rhett commented (with extreme snark) on India's current fashion.

#37 - Lies

"My dear, do you think this is all a beautifully crafted novel by some divine force, or are my lies not fitting into your prewritten storyline?"

#38 - Forever

The cotton fields went on into the sunrise, burning up as they went farther, into the forever that she both dreaded and anxiously waited for.

#39 - Overwhelmed (Companion to #38)

The Charleston waters lapped at the edges of the earth, it seemed, and that single thought almost drowned him in wanting to get _out_ onto that water and find new adventures- but never quite forgetting there was a wild and unpredictable quest back on a cotton plantation of Georgia that he had yet to conquer.

#40 - Whisper

"Wade, what's going on-" frantically hissed Ella to her brother, but was quickly elbowed and hushed, and she muttered under her breath, "And don't tell me it's a _grown-up _thing again like Mama and Uncle Rhett were talking about!"

#41 - Wait

Careen had waited forever to attend balls and dances, and be the belle like her older sister Scarlett, but after seeing the broken woman that once was the proud Southern beauty, the convent had more appeal than that of any man.

#42 - Talk

Atlanta's grapevine was fueled by spite, jealousy, revenge, curiosity, and most of all, people that defied society- so when Scarlett and Rhett came along, the gossip never stopped.

#43 - Search

Stumbling through the blooming cotton fields (_racing through the exploding shells and burning pain_) looking for something that couldn't be found (_wishing he could find a reason for this war in this God-forsaken battlefield) _but both minds knew that the search was not over.

#44 - Hope

When Bonnie first opened her eyes and blinked at the world, both Scarlett and Rhett felt something that they never thought they would feel after the war- but couldn't find a name for it.

#45 - Eclipse

Rhett had once told her the story of how Christopher Columbus had tricked the natives of the West Indies by pretending to take away the sun, and the young, naïve girl years later watched the same star mask itself in the moon and think of all the ways she had been tricked- and the ways she would get back.

#46 - Gravity

In her black mourning outfit she felt tied down to the ground, chained, but when Rhett danced with her, no matter what she was wearing, gravity was thrown to the wind and so was formality, manners, and just about everything she was ever taught.

#47 - Highway

The roads in Atlanta were chock full of people, from blacks to white to the high society to the servants, and once you slipped into the stream of people, people became base, lost their senses, and lost their individuality- Scarlett hated it, because it made her feel like just another person instead of the belle that had caught so many men's eyes.

#48 - Unknown

So many uncertainties- _if the cotton crop would survive, if Ashley would be able to live without Melly, if the South would ever recover, if_- but then Rhett smiled at her and everything just fell away like raindrops on a glass window, leaving a clear view.

#49 - Lock

Everyone had skeletons in their closets, but what amazed Scarlett is how Rhett found the key to hers so quickly- and how she sometimes just let him open the door.

#50 - Breathe

Though Scarlett thrived on the scent of rich silks, red earth, and horses, while Rhett basked in the aroma of the ocean water, leather, and cologne, but somehow when it came down to it they just wanted to breathe in each other.


End file.
